Author: Tenneson Woolf

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Playfully

The best relationships I have mix the playful with the serious. The silly with the sincere. The reaching with the obvious.

The best relationships I have include workships, friendships, olders, youngers. And all of the betweens.

Recently I sent playful note to friend Elif, referencing Becoming & Belonging (B & B) with Spirit & Skill (S & S). And then, she added Wonder & Wander (W & W).

Yup, playful.

B & B
S & S
W & W

Come jump in. It’s playful and serious.
For Wanderful (a longer online excursion next Thursday).
Or for other B & B (S & S, W & W) offerings.

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A Drum, A River, A Fire

I’m returning today.

From Comox, British Columbia. Through Vancouver. Home to Utah. From the company of good, wise, kind Men. To my Sweetheart, our hearth of home and heart.

Trips matter. So does the Learning. So does the Story. So does the Circle. Returns too, with an invitation to integrate and to share.

I’m a man of many good friends, colleagues, fellow learners, fellow question askers.

Today, remembering the drum for its ceremonial joy and depth. Same for the river, where a few salmon jumped. Same for the fire, where flames dance the mystery of it all.

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Partnering With Life

One of the reasons that I have such conviction in me, about partnering with Life itself, is because I’ve had brave and good teachers. Which is to say, guides.

Meg Wheatley is one of those. And Meg, in her early 80s, continues to offer what is brave and good.

Says Meg recently for one of her programs:

“We inhabit a generous, conscious Universe where everything alive has intelligence, nothing becomes manifest until it’s in relationship, and nothing living lives alone.”

Christina Baldwin is another of those teachers and guides. She too lives among the voices I hear in my heart. Christina is now in her late 70s, teaching and guiding in such clear ways.

Says Christina recently, in one of her informative blog posts,

“Life hangs on a narrative thread. … The thread is slender, but strong: we trust it to hold us and allow us to swing over the edge of the known into the future we dream in words.” Never have I felt this more than true than now. I am swinging over the unknown while the threads coming at me are a tangled mess of broken narratives, soundbites, AI concoctions, manipulated information, reels and threads and phone-held videos—some of them helpful, amidst all that is not.”

I bow to these women, these guides. For what they call out in many of us restorying the story, for giving me sips and sometimes gulps of courage and clarity.

Please jump in, as inspired. My B & B programs cultivate this kind of energy.

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Some Advice I Once Gave Myself

I’ve been journaling for decades. Sometimes paragraphs. Sometimes sentences. Sometimes a light word salad.

I’ve now been prosing much of that journaling over the last ten years. I like seeing it take shape. I like the invitation to find brevity and commonness.

Here’s a recent insight (which is to say, a familiar insight that keeps coming round — a bit like a dog faithfully retrieving the tennis ball tossed in the field).

Think of it as game plan. Maybe for the day, because, well, it’s today. Maybe for the week, some lingering. Maybe for each time the joyful dog that is Life returns with wagging tail and spitty drool to retrieve one more toss).

The basics,
they come ‘round, pretty often,
to give needed advice.

Most often, gentle.
Sometimes a slap.

“Trust your gut.”
“Be kind.”
“Stay clear, simple.”
Sometimes, “Fuck it.”

I suppose I oughta listen better.

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Gifts of Circle - Question Cardsasd
Gifts of Circle is 30 short essays divided into 4 sections: 1) Circle's Bigger Purpose, 2) Circle's Practice, 3) Circle's First Requirements, and 4) Circle's Possibility for Men. From the Introduction: "Circle is what I turn to in the most comprehensive stories I know -- the stories of human beings trying to be kind and aware together, trying to make a difference in varied causes for which we need to go well together. Circle is also what I turn to in the most immediate needs that live right in front of me and in front of most of us -- sharing dreams and difficulties, exploring conflicts and coherences. Circle is what I turn to. Circle is what turns us to each other."

Question Cards is an accompanying tool to Gifts of Circle. Each card (34) offers a quote from the corresponding chapter in the book, followed by sample questions to grow your Circle hosting skills and to create connection, courage, and compassionate action among groups you host in Circle.

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In My Nature is a collection of 10 poems. From A Note of Beginning: "This collection of poems arises from the many conversations I've been having about nature. Nature as guide. Nature as wild. Nature as organized. I remain a human being that so appreciates a curious nature in people. That so appreciates questions that pick fruit from inner being, that gather insights and intuitions to a basket, and then brings the to table to be enjoyed and shared over the next week."

This set of Note Cards (8 cards + envelopes)  quotes a few favorite passages from poems in In My Nature. I offer them as inspiration. And leave room for you to write personal notes.

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Most Mornings is a collection of 37 poems. I loved writing them. From the introduction: "This collection of poems comes from some of my sense-making that so often happens in the morning, nurtured by overnight sleep. The poems sample practices. They sample learnings. They sample insights and discoveries. They sample dilemmas and concerns."

This set of Note Cards (8 cards + envelopes)  quotes a few favorite passages from poems in Most Mornings. I offer them as inspiration. And leave room for you to write personal notes.

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